Egypt has become the first Africa country in fish farming projects, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture for livestock and poultry production Mona Mahrez on Sunday, adding that there are efforts to intensify production in order to meet export demands.
During an interview with Al-Hayat Al-Youm at Al-Hayat channel on Sunday, Mehrez said that Egyptian fish products are on demand abroad. She explained that large quantities of mullet and tilapia are exported to Arab countries, adding that increased production and price controls are the most important targets during the next phase.
The poultry sector provides many job opportunities, Mehrez said, as total investments in the productive sector reached up to LE70 billion. She added that the government aims to increase poultry farms in the desert areas in order to increase production.
Egypt inaugurated the largest fish farm in the Middle East last year on the international coastal road in the Berket Ghalioun area of Metoubas, Kafr al-Sheikh.
The National Fish Farming Project is set to expand on an area spanning 2,750 feddans, costing LE1.7 billion.
Egypt’s aquacultural production ranks seventh in the world, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In 2016, Egypt produced 1.5 million tons of fish, according to the General Authority for Fish Wealth Development. In the same year, it imported 236,000 tons of fish, worth 16 percent of total fish production.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
